Charles Leclerc extends home domination in chaotic second Monaco practice

Charles Leclerc topped a twice red-flag-disrupted second free practice session at the Monaco Grand Prix, having been quickest in FP1, too.

The Ferrari driver's lap time of 1:11.355 was +0.038 clear of Oscar Piastri in second.

Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Liam Lawson rounded out the top five at the principality.

Isack Hadjar and Piastri caused the red flag stoppages within the first 20 minutes of the hour, but were both able to continue in the session given the relatively minor damage inflicted on the Racing Bulls and McLaren cars.

The Frenchman, although quick, had an eventful session, having a second incident in the final 10 minutes, but this time managing to avoid inducing a red flag interruption.

Ollie Bearman will be investigated after the session for a red flag infringement.

Full Monaco Grand Prix FP2 report can be found below.

Opening phase and red flag stoppages

As soon as the clock started for the second free practice session of the weekend, the Circuit de Monaco was immediately immediately busy, with a queue to get out the pit lane.

Lawson and Alex Albon topped the timing boards early, before being supplanted by Leclerc and Hamilton around five minutes into the hour.

The Ferraris were the first of the front runners to set the pace, but would soon be replaced themselves, this time by Max Verstappen and Piastri.

Norris and George Russell, meanwhile, split the two SF-25s. The Dutchman's 1:12.922 was still quickest when Hadjar triggered the second red flag of the weekend with just seven minutes gone.

The Racing Bulls driver caught his rear left wheel on the wall on the outside of the Nouvelle Chicane. After a stoppage of a few minutes, the final hour of running for the day re-commenced.

Once it did, the field, mainly equipped with the yellow-walled medium Pirelli - which was the soft compound last year - continued to improve their lap times.

Verstappen had been pushed down to seventh, with Leclerc top, when Piastri brought out the second red flag of the session just before the 20 minute mark.

Locking up his inside tyre, the Australian slid helplessly into the wall on the outside of Sainte Devote, losing his front wing in the process. 

Second half

The session got back underway with 35 minutes to go. Straight away, Verstappen was aggrieved by the extensive traffic heading through the Swimming Pool section, taking to team radio to complain.

Whilst Hamilton headed to the top of the timing board, Ollie Bearman was noted by race control for a red flag infringement. That was promptly upgraded to a post-session stewards' investigation.

Fernando Alonso continued to showcase Aston Martin's newly-found single-lap pace, going top with a 1:11.890 just past the half-hour point of the session.

Home hero Leclerc emphatically underlined Ferrari's strong performance around the streets of Monte Carlo by going almost half a second clear of the Spaniard a few minutes later.

Whilst Norris and then Hamilton split the pair, neither could get within three-tenths of the Monegasque driver out front.

After shown early promise, Lawson continued to have his best session of the year, slotting into third as the clock approached the 45-minute mark.

However, the seven-time F1 drivers' champion would soon slash his team-mate's advantage to just one tenth to push Norris and the New Zeanlander back down the order slightly.

Piastri and Hadjar, recovering well from their early issues, ensured the top six were two-by-two for a while before the former joined Leclerc in the 1:11.3s.

That was before the latter tagged the wall for the second time in FP2, this time at the first corner. The Frenchman heavily hitting the outside wall to dis-align his left rear corner. 

"Man, I am so stupid. I think I'm just dumb," he told his team over radio in his frustration. Verstappen, meanwhile, found the run-off area at Mirabeau.

With the Dutchman tenth and his team-mate P11, things were about to get worse for Red Bull, with Yuki Tsunoda confirmed to be investigated after the session for a yellow flag infringement. However, that was then reversed, with a clarification of 'no further action' communicated.

As the pack reverted back to slower Pirelli compounds, the order at the top of the timing board was set, Leclerc topping his second session of the day after breaking his home grand prix curse 12 months ago.